Wednesday, 30 January 2013

A few years ago i designed and made a set of spring bunnies and showed them here on my blog.......some of you may remember them :).......they were called flora, snowdrop and primrose....................

......and they each had a flowery skirt or dress and a knitted cardigan with tiny buttons.............

....just recently i have made one more spring bunny.....she is called miss hyacinth and i have made her especially to give away to one of my lovely readers..........she has hyacinth blue spotty ears, a sweet floral skirt and a little hand knitted sweater in hyacinth pink tipped with blue.......the pretty fabric is from pam kitty morning.....i love that gorgeous shade of blue.................

....if you would like a chance to win this bunny then simply leave me a comment on this post....that's all you have to do.....the giveaway will be open till february 11, it is open to to everyone even if you don't have a blog (but please make sure you leave an email address if not, so i can contact you if you win), and i am happy to send anywhere in the world :)....i will pick the winner by random number generator and announce it around valentine's day..............

..........this week i have been working on some collage illustrations, similar to the ones shown in the background here...................

.............i love the variety of different crafts and how one often inspires another..............

............some of my own hyacinths............

............and some very sweet new rubber stamps....these are very pretty and delicate designs.......

............i've been using them to make gift tags and other things this week..............

....as for the bunny news mentioned in my title today??.....well, one of the most frequently asked questions i receive here is about my new bunny patterns and where they can be found?.......this is the back cover of my new book called pretty patchwork gifts.......please meet the sugar bunnies....a set of pretty little rabbits with patchwork frocks......i'm delighted to say that the bunny and frock patterns plus instructions are all in the book............i will be showing and telling more about the sugar bunnies (bluebell, petunia, and pansy) very soon.......

.........knitting for a small bunny is very enjoyable and surprisingly speedy work too......

........one last picture of miss hyacinth sitting on the cupcake cushion.........

Thank you for your truly kind and generous comments on my version of the farmer's wife quilt in my last post.........it is always lovely to hear from you and to share my makes and creations with so many like minded blog friends................wishing you all a very happy week with some sweet flowers, spring sunshine and lots of cheery crafty times..............good luck in the giveaway...........back soon xxxxxxxxxoooooooxxxxxxx

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

I am happy to be here in my cheery little blog space to show you my newly finished farmer's wife quilt..........(today I have had a few technological problems with my blog and my emails, and other computery stuff - my new computer is not my friend just now but i hope it will become my bff soon :).................

..........those of you who read my blog regularly will know that i finished the fw quilt top a little while ago and have been hand quilting it over the last few weeks, and very cosy it has been too.......

.....i finished quilting round each shape in each block, and then i used a leaf and vine stencil to draw a simple quilting pattern in the plain pink border..............the binding is red and white and dotty.....

..........i remembered the challenge i had of photographing the unquilted quilt top so knew that pegging the finished quilt up on the wall for a photoshoot was the best idea ..............we put a piece of wire aong the picture rail to peg it to.........

..........i do like quilts on the wall, maybe i should make one specially to have hanging up..........

................and now the farmer's wife quilt has been taken down and snuggled under...........

.........i loved making this quilt and now we will all love using it, especially with all the chilly snowy weather we are having here at the moment............

...........a little close up of the dotty backing, border and binding...................

.............the fabric colours are so cheerful, they make me think of summer flower gardens ...............

...................colourful quilts (strawberry hearts quilt and farmer's wife quilt) piled on a chair are a nice way to bring some colour into these monochromatic days...............

....and so is the bright new cosy daisy cushion now completed...........i am still making daisy grannies for a blanket, but these were my first try and i do like the effect.................

.............and here is my studio view after last friday's snowfall..............very pretty.........i was working on some illustrations.......no need for me to take a snow day from work :)......the school was closed and the children all played out in the snow.........my grandson charlie and his little friend george built a sweet snowdog, helped by daisy...........

..........some pictures of my cutting garden and beehive composter under snow.....and the potting shed too.........we don't have snow here very often, so it's quite a novelty when we do...........i like to look at it but not to travel in it and feel sorry for people who have to..............thank you for visiting my little blog space today, it's lovely to see you and i do love to hear from you..........there will be a giveaway as a thank you to my lovely readers taking place here very soon .............if you have snow and ice where you are take care and keep cosy!...........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Now that we are in the grip of some very wintery weather here in the uk, i thought it was time to show you some pictures of a new little doll i've made.............meet winter winnie...................she was made a while ago, but only finished recently...............

..............first i made the doll and created her hair using wool left over from a cardi (rowan felted tweed)...i often buy ready made curly and shiny doll's hair but this time i thought i'd try to make a choppy style :)....

..............i knitted the little sweater specially to fit winnie....long arms, short body........and a little moss stitch scarf to keep her cosy (the yarn for the jumper and scarf was from my stylecraft crochet stash, because the colours were just right)..........and her lovely skirt was made from some of the gorgeous simple life fabric from riley blake...........i love this range and am using it in lots of different projects..............

...............like this pretty needlebook (i showed you the patchwork outside of it a while ago....i love the pink print i used for the inside too)...................btw i am making winnie some little boots from felt too but they are not quite finished.............

.................more of this lovely collection from sew deerly loved here.......................

.............i made a few sewing notions as gifts but these are the ones i'm using myself at the moment......

................they are so pretty and i love the colours brightening up my sewing room on grey chilly days :).......

............here is the beginning of a little doll's quilt, waiting for some embroidery and quilting stitches.....

...........gorgeous hyacinths in the kitchen........mr p says it's like a garden centre..........that's good, yes?..............i have planted primroses in some of the beautiful greengate cups.......here is one on the breakfast table next to the bagels, jam and coffee and the book i'm reading), it's happy little flowers looking perky and cheery.......

...........i have enjoyed seeing all the snowy pictures this week on people's blogs around the uk and elsewhere.........it hasn't snowed where we are here on the north west coast, though we have had very cold temperatures, hail, sleet, wind, rain and thick frost.......it is said we may have snow here on friday so i will get the sledges out at the weekend for the grandchildren if so.............

............and here is a frosty photo of winter winnie to echo the chilly theme of this week...........also this week i have had a new computer installed.....just getting used to all that updated stuff now and finding my way around what used to be soooo easy but now.....isn't.......yet......thank you to everyone who visits my bit of blogland, thank you for reading and for your comments and emails....it's always a pleasure to hear from you............wishing you a happy crafty week and keep cosy................back soon (with quilts) xxxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

One of the things i love about my job is that i use brightly coloured fabrics, threads, paint and papers in the designs that i produce......and the magazines and books i work on are also colourful and pretty......so the combination of these things keeps me cheerful in my brightly lit studio throughout the winter days no matter how dull and grey they may be outside.......

..........this patchwork bag is one of my projects in this months crafts beautiful magazine (the 250th issue!)....i used some of my favourite fabrics from pam kitty morning and sew mama sew (find them here)....and i used waste canvas to cross stitch a pretty posy of flowers on a white patch to add extra texture and interest.......

............i like the combination of coloured backgrounds, white fabrics and printed text and will be exploring this look further...maybe a quilt?...........also featured in this special anniversary edition is an extract from my book Simple Sewn Gifts.....yes, one of my bunnies is in crafts beautiful :).........and i will have some more bunny news for you coming up very soon..............

...............today was sunny here with a frost that remained on the grass all day long...........in my spare moments i have been making many more daisy granny squares for the new blanket...........i love the sweet yarn colours in the sunshine on my craft table...............

.......................and i have also been piecing together some new blocks for the next quilt..............

............flowery fabrics mixed with a few checks, and sometimes an applique flower is the plan.....i will show you more of this soon in a special quilt post when i also hope to show the finished farmer's wife quilt......i've made the binding so just have to sew it on now :)...............very exciting to be so close to a special quilt finish..................

................some real flowers are gracing my sewing room too...........love these pretty pink and white tulips............the blue hyacinths are almost over now but some white ones are just about to bloom so i still have some scent.....

.........now i am off to hook up a few more daisies.........and sew on a bit of binding.........i have lots of lovely crafty things to keep me busy through the winter days...........i am working on a giveaway too especially for my lovely readers and hope to have it finished in the next week or two so look out for that :).............thank you so much for dropping in to see me and for your kind comments and emails.........i love to hear from you........wishing you all a happy and crafty winter week .........back soon xxxxxoooooxxxxxx

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

......i have begun my crafty new year by filling the sewing room with flowering hyacinths.........so heavenly to have the delicious fragrance and see those lovely flowers while i sew..........i have some happy new year crafty makes to show you today............first of all is this little mouse.............called mousie........

..........i bought the tiny bed in york over a year ago and planned to make a little toy to go in it........it was such a small bed i decided it had to be for a mouse, and a very tiny one at that.........and i needed to make a teeny patchwork coverlet for the tiny bed too.............

............i finished sewing this over christmas, i loved adding little stitches and embellishments like applique and buttons and a teeny bow.......i didn't use wadding in this mini-iest of mini quilts, just backed it with a soft cotton fabric and sewed through the two layers...........

.........the little mouse has a flowery nightie to wear and a tiny pillow to sleep on.........i have always loved doll's beds and now i have my little daisy often visiting here i have a good reason to provide tiny beds for playing with....daisy just loves to tuck up her toys tenderly and i often find them 'put to bed' around the house........this little bed must be meant for a princess i think as it has a little crown decoration cut out of the frame.............

........... there is something else brightening up my wintry sewing room ..... a new sewing basket....a lovely surprise present............and even brighter..........some colourful new crochet daisy granny squares have been hooked up during the chatting and movie watching times we've had lately...............

............i love the idea of a whole blanket made from daisies...........

...............i am trying out some different ways of combining them and joining them before i decide on the actual blanket itself..............lots of inspiration from many of you clever crochet bloggers out there :)....

.............this is for a cushion...........i like it but think the extra colour round the white daisy petals makes it look more like a normal granny square and less like a daisy if you know what i mean :)..........so i will try it again and see if i can make it work another way..............

..........this is my project in january's crafts beautiful magazine......some of the patterns can be downloaded from the website............there are lots of fresh and inspiring new year makes inside...............

...........and i am just choosing fabrics to begin a new quilt.......i am still quilting the farmer's wife quilt but it will soon be done, and last year i really enjoyed making the blocks for it one by one when i had time between work commissions and other wip's.........so i've decided to start a new collection of quilt blocks and i'll be showing them to you sooooon!!..................thank you for popping in here......wishing the happiest of happy new years to all my lovely readers.........back soon xxxxxooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxx

my new book

about me

I am a designer, author, illustrator, stitcher and I just love crafting and making things. I live on the North West coast of England with my lovely husband. My family mean the world to me - I have two amazing grown up daughters and three sweet grandchildren - two boys and a girl.